


Dreaming

by muffiny_muffin



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Donghyuck steals Mark's cereal, Fluff, M/M, Monster Under The Bed AU, Monster!Donghyuck, human!mark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-02-10 11:04:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18659164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muffiny_muffin/pseuds/muffiny_muffin
Summary: Donghyuck is the new tenant under Mark's bed.





	1. Chapter 1

Mark had noticed strange things happening for a while. At first, it was small, barely observable. Items of food missing from the fridge, or objects misplaced. He dismissed it, thinking his friends might’ve done something while they were over. But it always stayed in the back of his mind, keeping him wondering.

It came up in a casual conversation with his friends one day. Talking about ghosts and paranormal things.

“You’ve ever seen any ghosts?” Lucas asked, taking another swing of his coffee.

“They don’t exist” Jeno replied. 

“Says who?” Jaemin argued, leaning in. It went around for several minutes, the three of them squabbling. 

“What do you say, Mark?” Lucas turned to him, tilting his head.

“I don’t know, maybe” It didn’t seem like they were satisfied with his answer.

“What do you mean “I don’t know”?” Jaemin rolled his eyes.

“I mean, there have been weird things happening around me, so ghosts are the simplest explanation”

“There could be another reason, like you going crazy” Jeno said. “Have any of you actually seen a ghost? Or anything supernatural for that matter?” Jaemin and Lucas grumbled out an acknowledgment, drooping their heads.

“Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist” Mark defended.

“Fine, have it your way” Jeno Finally exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

They all shake their heads, laughing at their own antics.

A few days later, Mark notes more objects disappearing around his apartment. He knew he shouldn’t be paranoid, but he didn’t know what else to do. It floated in his mind constantly, bother him day and night. The internet wasn’t of much help either. It’s suggestions did nothing but made him smell like herbs for a week since they said that would get rid of the weird stuff that was happening. He was out of solutions. 

He was walking home from school one night when he saw something through his window. A figure of sorts was moving around his home. Mark panicked, thinking there was a burglar taking his stuff. He rushed up the stairs, nearly mowing someone over in the process. Hard breaths escaped him as he ran down the hall. By the time he got to his door, he thought he would be too late. 

The door was still locked as he giggled the door handle. Fumbling for his keys, he tried to calm down. It didn’t do much, since his hands were still shaking as he entered the apartment. He didn’t hear anything other than the squeak of his shoes on the floor. Then, a crunching sound. Mark made his way towards it, careful to stay quiet. 

When he turned the corner, he saw a...person? There was a person, sitting on his counter, eating his cereal from a box. The boy whipped his head around, eyes widening in shock. They both stayed still, waiting for the other to do something. Seconds pass, and Mark couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

“What are you doing in my apartment” He said, inching his way over to the other.

“I live here” The boy replied, putting the box down.

“No you don’t. I live here alone. Get out”

“Nope. I’m your new roommate” He smiled, tilting his head slightly. Mark only thought he was cute for a second, before shaking the notion from his mind.

“Since when?”

“Like, two weeks go”

“You were the one stealing all my food?”

“Yep”

“I don’t need a roommate, so leave”

“No way, I like it here”

“I don’t like you here- what are you doing?” Mark watched as the boy walked away, towards his bedroom. Curious, he followed, padding across his apartment with small footsteps.

But when he got to his room, the boy was gone. Before Mark could turn away, he saw black...dust? Coming from under his bed. He approached the bed gingerly, kneeling over to look underneath. The dust pooled in the corners, shimmering from what light came from the phone Mark was using for a flashlight. It flinched from the brightness, growling softly. 

He scrambled to the other side of the room, sitting against the wall. Wide eyes stared ahead, terrified. It crept out slowly, staying close to the floor. The sight reminded Mark of ash blowing in the wind. It moved towards him, making him lean into the wall behind him even more, like he wanted to become one with it.

Soon it was morphing, solidifying into a body. The. The boy stood in front of him again, flashing him an embarrassed smile. Only then did Mark notice his eyes, pure black, before shifting into brown. Pale skin brightened into pink tones, leaving a slight blush on his cheeks. Mark wouldn’t have believed he wasn’t human if he hadn’t seen him transform. 

“I’m Donghyuck” He said, offering out a hand for Mark, which he took.

“Mark”

“I know” That damn smile again.

“Of course you do” He rolled his eyes, pushing past Donghyuck into the hallway. “What are you anyway” Mark said over his shoulder.

“Um, hard to explain”

“Okay then. Why are you in my apartment?” 

“I needed a place to stay, and this happened to be the first place I saw” Donghyuck watched as Mark started pulling out food from the fridge, obviously searching for something.

“So you’ve been living under my bed for the past two weeks? And did you drink all the pop?”

“Yes, and yes”

“Great. So why don’t you move somewhere else?” He slammed the fridge door closed, heading for his couch. They both sat down, facing one another.

“I’ve traveled a long way, and need to replenish my energy. Which will take some time so if you don’t mind I’ll be staying for a bit”

“What if I do mind?”

“Then I guess I could kill you”

“Then you won’t have anyone to get food for you”

“True”

“I guess we could compromise”

“How?”

“I don’t know, I let you stay here and you give me something in return?”

“What do you want?”

“What could you give me?”

“Protection?”

“You’re here for, like, a month. That’s not going to help me much”

“Fine. How about some kind of spell?”

“Okay, what kind?”

“A love spell perhaps? There must be someone you want desperately to love you”

“Why not, sure”

“Then we have a deal?” Donghyuck held out his hand.

“We have a deal” Mark took his hand, shaking it.

 

Donghyuck was a nosey housemate, but other than that he was okay. He had kept a decent distance from Mark when he had guests over, but other than that he stuck to the boy’s side. All day Mark would have the creature following him around the apartment. The only alone time he got anymore was when he went out, which he didn’t do often. He was doomed to suffer for another week. Seven days, then he would be free.

He tended to scream when Donghyuck sneaked past the locked door of the bathroom. The dust would slip under, solidifying inside the room. Mark screeched, not hearing what Donghyuck was saying. One of the many reasons Mark disliked the creature’s presence in his home.

 

Donghyuck was three weeks into his stay when he felt the change. 

It had been any regular day in the Lee household when Donghyuck noticed the way Mark’s eyes sparkled. He had been staring at watermelon at the time, but that didn’t matter to Donghyuck. All he saw was the bright glint radiating from him. That was when Donghyuck started to fall.

After that Donghyuck couldn’t not observe Marks every move. His many different types of laughs, that, to most, would sound the same. Donghyuck knew the difference though, because he didn’t ever stop listening. Or watching for that matter. He was getting annoyed with himself, for paying so much attention to a human. A human that Donghyuck will probably never see again after he leaves. He puts himself down even more when he thinks of that; not because he thinks of it, but the feeling of dread that came with the thought.

Through all this their dynamic didn’t shift. Mark still kept him away when he had guests, and Donghyuck still took most of Mark’s cereal when he could. It felt good to Donghyuck, to have a routine. Being out and about finding souls to feed off of was too irregular for his liking. But he had to disappear sometime, since human sustenance could tie him over forever. He was getting hungry, too hungry. Despite this, he tried to stay as long as he could, against his better judgement.

Weakness set in around the fourth week, right around the time he said he would leave. His body was starting to unstick from itself. The dust he was made of needed energy to stay together. That energy could only be retrieved by eating a soul, or at least part of one. Donghyuck didn’t like taking people’s lives, so he usually only took tiny bits of a person’s soul. The soul will refill itself soon enough, so it’s not fatal or in any way detrimental to the person. But this sis make it more difficult for Donghyuck to maintain his energy level. He landed in a crowd just before arriving at Mark’s, which is why he survived for so long. Human food slowed down the disintegration process, but it didn’t last forever. 

He wasn’t sure how to tell Mark when he was leaving, so he put it off. Procrastination is a killer. So he stayed under Mark’s bed for a while longer than he should’ve. By the time he went to emerge again, half his arms had turned to dust. It wasn’t surprising to Donghyuck when Mark screeched when he came into the apartment later that day. Donghyuck was standing by the entrance of the home like he did up until a few days prior. Without his hands to balance, Donghyuck used the wall to lean on.

“What the hell happened to you?” Mark quickly threw his shoes off and ran to Donghyuck. It almost seemed like the boy was worried for Donghyuck.

“I’m losing energy. I can’t stay together anymore.” Donghyuck watched as Mark raised the stump that was once his arm, eyes widening when more of it floated away in the air.

“Can’t you do something about it? Won’t you die?”

“I’m not dying, silly; I’m just falling into my natural form. Since I haven’t had a good meal in a while my body doesn’t have the capacity to keep it together. I’ll only die if I don’t eat for over year, which is pretty unheard of for my kind.”

“Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

“I will, but I didn’t want to leave here.” What? Why did he say that? He hit himself internally, willing his mind to stop communicating with his mouth.

“Why is that?”

“Because of you.” Apparently he didn’t know how to shut up. The exhaustion on him must be at full force for his brain to be this unresponsive. 

“Because of me?” Mark had a twitch in his voice that wasn’t there a moment earlier. “Why?”

“I don’t really know myself, so I couldn’t tell you,” Shut up, shut up, shut up. “But I think it has something to do with you not being scared of me. Wherever I go all I see in people’s eyes are terror, but not with you.” 

“That’s good, I’m guessing”

“Hell yeah it is,” What was he saying? “It’s so nice to have someone to talk to, even though you don’t talk much.”

“So you don’t want to leave because you like it here?”

“Wow, you really don’t get it.” Donghyuck felt like slapping himself. Despite his constant trying, he failed to gain control of his body. At that point he didn’t know what else to do other than wait it out. He would fade soon enough anyways, so it’s not like what he was saying mattered much.

“Get what?”

“I liiiiiike yooou.” Donghyuck felt the urge to slap himself rise up again. It was too embarrassing to watch on the side lines as he dug a deeper grave for himself.

“You...like me?” Mark was staring at him when Donghyuck looked up, who was looking at him in confusion.

“Yeah, silly.” He draped himself across Mark’s lap, making his conscious want to die.

“Oh...Ooh. I think I like you too.”

Donghyuck’s brain exploded. Mark couldn’t have said what he thought he heard. How was that possible? No one had ever liked him before, so what was he supposed to do? His panic level was reaching its maximum. Finally, he was able to snake his was back into his brain.

“What did you just say?”

“I said I-I like you, I think.”

“Oh no.” Donghyuck was short circuiting and disintegrating at the same time. 

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I’m disappearing that’s what's wrong.” 

“Oh yeah. We should probably fix that.”

“No shit Sherlock.”

“So, how do we fix you going all dusty?”

“I need to eat.”

“You’ve been eating continually since you got here, what else do you need to eat?”

“A soul.”

“A SOUL?”

“What else did you think I ate, dirt?”

“No, but maybe something more humane. You seem too nice to consume someone’s soul.”

“I only need a small chunk. That should last me a few days.”

Donghyuck watched the gears slowly turning in Mark’s head. They were quiet for a minute, before Mark shouted.

“Take mine. You said you only need a piece, right?”

“I couldn’t do that to you Mark. It’s really painful.”

“So what? It’ll keep you here longer, so I wanna do it.”

“Are you sure? I hear it’s not pleasant.”

“It’s okay, do it.” Mark shut his eyes, probably for bracing against the pain. Donghyuck’s heart dropped as he reached out, towards Mark’s being. He took as little as he could, but he could still see how it was affecting Mark. A loud cry brought Donghyuck back to reality.

It came from Mark, who was doubled over on the floor. Somehow Donghyuck also managed to fall beside Mark. He winced as Mark stopped yelling, instead gasping for air. Mark’s reaction seemed very severe for the amount Donghyuck took. It made him worried, even more than he already was.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it would hurt you so much.”

“It’s okay. You’re getting better, right?” Donghyuck looked towards his arms, watching the dust morph back into his arms. He nodded to Mark, unsure of whether he saw or not.

“You should be back to normal within a few hours. I can make you something in the meantime.”

“No way in hell are you going near the kitchen. You couldn’t cook to save your life.”

“Not like you could either. I’m pretty sure the only one of your friends who knows how to cook is Jaemin. Though that’s not surprising considering who he’s dating.”

“Wait, Nana’s dating someone?”

“I’m sure he’ll tell you if you ask.”

“If you say so.”

Mark and Donghyuck shuffle around the apartment for a while doing nothing. Donghyuck knew Mark wanted him to make the first move, but he was nervous. What if he went about it all wrong? He could push Mark away so easily. Human couples did it all the time, over the simplest of things.

“Mark.” Donghyuck finally built up the guts to yell for him. “Can you come sit with me?”

“Sure.” It came from across the home, barely noticeable without Donghyuck’s excellent hearing. 

Soon Mark was there, beside Donghyuck, looking at him expectedly.

“Before, you said you liked me?” Donghyuck’s voice was shaking every so slightly. Mark took a moment to think before he spoke.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, you know that I like you too, so I was wondering…” He paused, not sure if he should say what he was going to.

“You were wondering…”

“Would you...be my boyfriend?” Donghyuck hid his head in his hands right as he finishes his question.

“Duh. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me forever.” Mark smiled brightly at Donghyuck when he raised his head.

“What? Since when?” Donghyuck shrieked, getting ready to run out of the room. Mark grabbed his wrist, pulling him back onto the couch.

“Right after you got here. You’re not exactly subtle.”

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier then?” 

“I wasn’t sure if you would want to stay here after I told you.”

“We’re both idiots.”

“That’s for sure.” Mark said, tugging Donghyuck to stand up. “Now, can I dance with my boyfriend?”

“Of course, stupid.”

“You’re the who wanted to date the stupid.”

“Maybe I won’t then.”

“Nooooooo, mine.” Mark bear hugs Donghyuck, causing both of them to laugh.

And they danced to the music in their heads till the end of the night, giggling at each other when they fell over.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only planned to do two parts to this story but I'm going a little overboard, so look forward to some more.  
> This also isn't edited because I'm lazy and want to work on other stuff.

It had been a few months since Donghyuck decided to stay with Mark. They’re had their ups and downs. Donghyuck kept wanting to sleep under the bed, and did so until Mark stopped talking to him because of it. The silent treatment lasted the whole of 40 minutes before Donghyuck needed someone to talk to again. It made Mark laugh when he thought back to it, remembering the look of anguish on his boyfriend’s face. 

Donghyuck also kept stealing his cereal, except in even larger quantities than before. It wasn’t just the cereal; all the sweets in his apartment were gone within hours. Mark tried to hide them, but every spot he came up with was discovered by the other. It was like Donghyuck had a super nose specifically designed for candy. No matter how hard he tried Mark couldn’t keep his sugar to himself. Against Donghyuck’s protest, Mark declared that he wouldn’t be buying any more candy.

Then there was the matter on Donghyuck’s feeding. The human food part wasn’t the problem, he had plenty of that. It was that Mark had to watch Donghyuck leave for entire evenings, only to return with a grief stricken look on his face. He told Mark that he could feel the person’s pain as he took a piece of their soul. It didn’t feel right to him, but Mark always made an attempt at consoling him. Even if he didn’t know what exactly Donghyuck was feeling, he knew it wouldn’t last forever. So he tried to get it to leave quicker. Telling lame jokes were his go to, but he knew those never really worked on anyone, nevermind Donghyuck. So cuddles and snuggles it was.

Donghyuck only needed to go out once a week, so for the few hours following his return home Mark made sure to tackle him onto the couch. The dark look in Donghyuck’s eyes dissipated after a few minutes, but Mark knew it would make the other feel better to stay as they were. It became their routine, and Mark went as far as to look forward to the time together.

Mark also knew they needed to get out of his apartment more. Donghyuck had been holed up there the whole time, save his feeding time. It didn’t seem healthy, even for someone who wasn’t human. So Mark organized a thing with his friends, because Donghyuck also needed to learn more social skills. The last time Mark took him out Donghyuck had no idea how to start a conversation to save his life.

So he planned to bring the other to a lounge with some of his friends. In the days leading up to it Donghyuck begged Mark to let him stay home. It was cute, the way he batted his eyes and pouted, but to no avail. Mark stood his ground; firmly believing Donghyuck needed to socialize at least a little in his lifetime. Though Mark knew Donghyuck couldn’t be mad at him long, especially when he brought the other chocolate.

The evening was brisk on their walk to their meeting place. Donghyuck’s hand squeezed Mark’s harder the closer they got. Mark had told him they would leave if Donghyuck couldn’t handle it, but he still wanted his boyfriend to talk to someone who wasn’t Mark. He knew Donghyuck’s comfort was more important than him conversing with others.  
Donghyuck’s response to this was to tell him he needed to have a fun time. Mark had thought about it then, how much time he had been spending with Donghyuck instead of going out. He wasn’t sure if he even saw his friends more than once since he’s met Donghyuck. And that he completely forgot to tell them he had a boyfriend. That was going to be an interesting conversation.

They reached their destination just as the rain started. Getting in wasn’t a problem, since the place wasn’t packed. Mark recognized his group in the corner right as they walked in. Dragging Donghyuck with him they made their way to the back.

“Look who finally rose from the dead!” Lucas yelled, turning his friend’s attention to them.

“What’s kept you away for so long? I knew you didn’t like us, but I thought you’d at least call or something,” Jeno said.

“Who’s this?” Jaemin, as always, being the more perceptive one being the first one to notice his boyfriend.

“This is Donghyuck,” Mark said. “This is when you say hi,” he whispered loud enough for only Donghyuck to hear.

“Oh, right. Uh...Hi?” Donghyuck waved to them, giving a small smile.

“He’s so adorable!” Jaemin squealed, approaching Donghyuck, who’s face curled.

“It’s meant as a compliment,” Mark said with a laugh. Donghyuck’s expression went back to a neutral one.

“Where did you find him? I want one.” Jaemin said, extending a hand to Donghyuck. “I’m Jaemin, nice to meet you.”

“Uh...Donghyuck.” Mark noticed his perplexed look, and giggled.

“I know.” Jaemin smiled even wider, if that was possible. “The tall one there is Lucas. Ignore his yelling, he tends to do it a lot. You’ll get used to it. And this here is Jeno.” Jaemin said, wrapping his arm around the other sitting at their table. “There’s not much to worry with him.”

“Why don’t you sit, I’ll go grab something for us to drink.” Mark motioned to the space beside Lucas.

“Okay. But you’ll be quick, right?” Donghyuck’s nervous hand still holding onto Mark’s.

“As quick as I can be. It won’t be more than ten minutes, kay?”

“Alright.” Donghyuck at last let go from his boyfriend and sat beside his friends.

Donghyuck’s heart was racing. He only ever went out alone when he needed to feed, and even then it wasn’t for very long. At least then he had something he had to do. Right then he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Three sets of eyes were set on him, waiting for something. Donghyuck had no idea what they wanted from him.

“You and Mark are dating, right?” Lucas asked.

“Seriously dude? They walk in here holding hands and you have to ask if they’re dating?” Jaemin sighed, taking a swig of his drink. Donghyuck was still unsure of how to go about the situation.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “I’m just making sure.”

“So, how did you two meet?” 

“Really, Jeno? That’s the best you could come up with?” Jaemin shook his head. The other two didn’t seem fazed by it, so Donghyuck assumed it was something he did regularly.

“What else am I supposed to say?”

“Something that isn’t that.”

The two continued their bickering up until Mark came back, multiple glasses in hand. They were all very close, from what Donghyuck could see. He didn’t participate in the conversation much, unless there was a question directed towards him. Mark shot him some careful glances throughout the night, but didn’t show much worry. They all laughed away the evening, leaving the perfect opportunity for Donghyuck to sneak away for a moment.

It was a lot to take in. There were so many people jammed into one place, all creating a landscape of sounds. Shoving in between bodies took half his time getting to the restroom, but once he was there, it was safe. The music was muffled by the door closing, letting him relish in the dimmed noise. 

He leaned on the sink, taking a good look at himself in the mirror. Just the same as before they left Mark’s apartment, only sweatier. His breathing was slowing down to a more relaxed state when he saw someone in the mirror, standing behind him. It wasn’t just anyone, no; it was someone he knew, from a long time ago.

“Well, look who we have here. If it isn’t Renjun himself.” Donghyuck said with a flourish, turning around with a spin.

“Donghyuck. What are you doing here? Thought you starved two decades ago.”

“That was old news, Renjun. Now I’m fit as a fiddle.”

“Oh, really? Does a fiddle usually have suitcases under its eyes?” 

“Look at the pot calling the kettle black.”

“It’s not my fault foods been scarce lately. Club staff are getting better at looking after their patrons.”

“I’m sure that’s a real problem for you.”

“I’m sure it’s not a problem for you either, yet here we are.”

“Cut it with the banter. What do you want, Renjun?”

“Just to say hi, maybe hang out sometime. We could go feeding together, for old times sake. It’s so lonely, since they all died. I never meet any of our kind anymore.”

“That’s your problem if you can’t find a place for yourself in this world.”

“And you have?”

Donghyuck mentally kicks himself for letting that go. 

“Has Dongie gone and gotten himself a life? How did you get another supernatural to let you into their lives, after what you’ve done?”

Donghyuck’s face must’ve given him away, because Renjun’s next comment, made his stomach drop.

“Oh, so they’re not supernatural? A human? Really, Donghyuck? You’re shacking up with a human, our source of food? I knew you were stupid, but I didn’t think you were that stupid.”

“You don’t know anything about my life.” Donghyuck said, noticing his own hint of worry in his voice.

“Are they here tonight? You should introduce me, it’ll be fun.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Renjun.”

“Why not? Are you afraid of me telling them of who you really are? You can’t hide it forever. It’s gonna come back to bite you in the ass.”

“You-”

“What? Monster? We already know we both are.” 

With that Renjun made for the door. Donghyuck ran after him, trying to keep track of him in the throngs of the crowd. Before he could catch him, Renjun was at the table Donghyuck had been sitting at moments earlier. It wouldn’t be hard to tell which Donghyuck was close with, given his scent was all over Mark.

“Donghyuck!” Renjun waved him over, appearing to have seen him for the first time that night.

“Hey, you okay?” Mark placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning closer so their faces were inches apart.

“Snap out of it love birds, we have another guest.”

They only stayed for another fifteen minutes before heading out. Mark had noticed Donghyuck’s agitation early on after Renjun had joined them. Mark cast glances at Donghyuck on the walk back to the apartment, but said nothing. Once they stepped foot into the entrance, Mark couldn’t hold it in any longer. Concern for his boyfriend was too overwhelming to overlook.

“You didn’t look too good after that guy showed up, was everything okay? Do you know him from somewhere? I just don’t want you being around people who make you uncomfortable.”

Donghyuck sighed. He knew he would need to tell Mark at some point, but he wanted to enjoy his time a bit longer before it was over. There was no way Mark would want to keep him around after he found out what he’s done. But he didn’t want to keep it from him either.

“It’s a long story. How about tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.”

Restless sleep was all Donghyuck got for most of the night. Seeing Renjun brought back painful memories he once tried to bury for good. It was horrific for him to relive. He had no idea how he once did those things without blinking an eye. It made him sick. 

Their day started slow. There was no talk of what happened the previous night, nor what they were going to talk about later. Mark didn’t mention it, instead sticking to lighter topics, putting a smile on Donghyuck’s face. Donghyuck didn’t allow Mark near the kitchen, per usual. Last time he tried making a meal it ended with too much stuff on the ceiling, so Donghyuck was the one to make breakfast that morning. 

It took a couple hours before the subject was brought up. They were both bundled under piles of blankets on the couch, sitting in silence.

“So, about last night,” Donghyuck started.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“You need to know. It’s not fair to you to keep it from you.”

“As long as you’re okay with it, I’ll listen.” Mark snuggled closer to Donghyuck, settling in for what Donghyuck was about to tell him.

“I’m not human, which you know already.”

“Kinda obvious.”

“No shit, Sherlock. Anyway, I’m not the only one of my kind. There used to be lots of us, all around the world. We mostly lived in groups, to be close to those like us. They were known as Gatherings back then. Now they don’t really exist, since there aren’t that many of us left. The guy from last night, Renjun, was part of the Gathering I was in. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, or any of my kind for that matter.”

“How long?”

“In human years, I’d say about a century, but that’s only an estimate. We haven’t run on your time until recently, when we had to start assimilating into human society.”

“Wait, so you’re old then?”

“I guess. In human years I’d say so.”

“Just how old are you then?”

“There’s no exact date I was born, but I think it’s something like 500 years or so.”

“So, you’re like, old then.”

“You could say that.”

“How old was that Renjun guy then?”

“Pretty close to my age. We grew up together. Well, as much as our kind can grow up together.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, so I’m old, and there aren’t many like me around anymore. That’s because, around 300 years ago, there was a fight between our species and another supernatural species. You wouldn’t really have reference of them since they don’t really show up in any of your lore, but it was nasty. They were decimated just as much as we were, if not more.”

“I’m assuming that’s a lot then?”

“There was never an exact number for that. Us supernaturals don’t record stuff like you humans do. But most of them were gone, and by now there are none left. Us, on the other hand, are starting to get back onto our feet. The booming human population has helped with that, since you’re our main source of food. Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s okay. I mean, other animals eat humans all the time.”

“Did you just compare me to an animal?”

“No, you’re too cute to be an animal.”

“I’ll let you off this time since I need to tell you more, but next time you won’t be so lucky.”

“I got it.” Mark raised his arms in defence, though it was more like wings of blankets from Donghyuck’s view.

“I was still young at the time, by our standards, which is why I have such a different view on the events than most of the survivors. They all see it as a glorious battle, but to me it was a blood bath. There was so much unnecessary killing involved, just because both sides wanted to rip something apart.” Donghyuck tucked himself further into his coverings, hiding his face from Mark’s eyes.

“Did you have to see lots of it?”

“That’s the part I’m afraid of telling you. You’ll hate me for what I’ve done, and how much horror I’ve caused in this world.”

“Donghyuck, look at me.” Mark pulled away what was keeping Donghyuck from seeing him, pulling his chin up so their eyes met. “It was a long time ago, right?” Donghyuck nodded. “I think over 300 years is enough to change your ways. You can tell me anything.”

“It wasn’t just that I had to see a lot of the killing. I was the one doing the killing a lot of the time. Renjun and I, we were the best of the best. It didn’t matter to us that we were taking life, just that we were good at something, and got paid well for it. It was only a while after the fighting stopped that I realized what I had done. That’s when I tried to forget everything. Being around Renjun brought back too much, so I left the Gathering. After some time, most Gatherings disbanded anyways, since most were going their own ways, trying to escape their grief. For the most part, I had put it behind me, but there are moments when it’ll come back; everything I did, how many lives I ruined. Then there was you. I hadn’t bonded with a human before you, at least, not as well as you and I have. It was helping a lot, but then Renjun happened and I-”

Tears were flowing down Donghyuck’s cheeks at a steady pace. Mark wrapped him as best he could in his arms, rocking him. There was nothing said for a long while after that. They sat there, listening to eat others breathing. Quiet sobs morphe into sniffles, then Mark was holding a sleeping Donghyuck in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/muffiny-muffin)   
> 

**Author's Note:**

> I might add another chapter from the month Donghyuck was staying there, and possibly after the ending of the story, but I don't know yet.  
> I'm in the middle of writing a second part to this but it will take some time since I'm in the middle of exam season. Thanks to those who were interested in another chapter.  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/muffiny-muffin)


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